Apparatus for smoothing a coating on a surface of leather or the like



May 1963 J. B. COYNE 3,090,351

APPARATUS FOR SMOOTHING A comma on A SURFACE OF LEATHER OR THE LIKE Filed June 11, 1958 :5 Sheefs-Sheetl INV EN TOR John 5. Jayne E K I L T m N R E m CA E BL F 0 F E sm mm A w P A P. A

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11, 1958 R m w W.

ATTORNEYS J. B. COYNE May 21, 1963 APPARATUS FOR SMOOTHING A COATING ON A SURFACE OF LEATHER OR THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 11, 1958 INVENTOR lfofizz 3.605100 lg ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,090,351 APPARATUS FOR SMOOTHING A COATING (3N A SURFACE OF LEATHER OR THE LIKE John B. Coyne, 119 Foster St., Peabody, Mass. Filed June 11, 1958, Ser. No. 741,338 4 Claims. (Cl. 118223) This invention relates to improvements in coating apparatus. More particularly this invention relates to coating apparatus of the type wherein the work is contacted by means of endless belts for applying or smoothing a coating material.

While this invention will be described as it is presently being used and in its preferred embodiment in the finishing or coating of leather, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is applicable to many other trades which require a similar coating or smoothing operation.

In the finishing of leather in the leather trade it is common practice to employ a seasoning machine to apply a finish, stain, or pigment to the surface of the leather. This is more or less a spatter or uneven coating and necessitates a leveling off or smoothing of the finish that has been applied. In the present state of the art this smoothing or leveling off is done on a conveyor directly behind the seasoning machine which applies the finish. The smoothing, streaking off or leveling off, 'as this op eration is termed in the art, is done at present by two or more operators who manually employ swabs which they sweep across the leather to even the finish and wipe off the excess coating material. It is the principal object of this invention to provide a finishing machine especially adapted to finishing of leather which eliminates the need for a seasoning machine and the manual operation of streaking off on the conveyor.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved coating apparatus for coating leather or the like in which the work is moved past skewed coating applicators and the speed and direction of movement of the work and applicators is such that the coating will be wiped onto the work perpendicular to the movement thereof.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a coating apparatus of the endless bel-t applicator type wherein there are two endless belt applicators which are driven such that the belts will travel from :the center of the work toward the outside edges thereof and the coating will be applied from the center and smoothed oif toward the edges of the work. This action will prevent the edges of the Work from curling up as the applicator belts are traveling from the center outwards rather than vice versa.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide an improved means for transferring the coating from the applicator to the work by means of a wedging action between the work and the coating applicator belt. This improved means further has adjustments whereby the wedging act-ion may be varied in accordance with various requirements.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be pointed out in the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principle of this invention and the best mode which has been contemplated of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the skewed endless belt applicators and the vectors thereon representing the components of motion of the work and the applicator belts;

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing one of the applicator belts taken generally along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1 showing the means for accomplishing the wedging action to apply the coating from the applicator belt to the work;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of one applicator assembly in its commercial form and in position above a workpiece conveyor;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detailed sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 4 and showing the means for applying the wedging action to transfer the coating from the applicator to the work;

FIG. 7 is an end elevation view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 illustrating the tilting adjustment of the applicator assembly.

In genenal, this invention contemplates providing a finish or coating to leather or similar workpieces which may be moved past the coating applicators on a conveyor or the like. The coating applicators consist of a pair of endless applicator belts having the coating material applied thereto. The applicator belts are skewed with respect to the direction of travel of the conveyor and the amount of skew and the speed of the conveyor and applicator belts are chosen such that the component of motion between the applicator belt and the work produces a resultant wiping action which will be at substantially right angles to the direction of the work. Weight means are applied on the inside of the applicator belt to assist in applying the finishing material to the work.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 illustrate the principal inventive concepts in schematic form. As shown in FIG. 1, suitable pieces of work such as leather 10 are supported on a moving conveyor belt 12 overlying a rigid support surface 14. The conveyor belt 12. is moving in the direction of the arrow C A pair of endless belt applicators 16 are identical, each controlling the streaking-off and coating on its own side of the conveyor 12. The endless belts 16 are preferably constructed of a moisture-resistant canvass on the outside of which is stitched a plush cloth having a soft fiber. Each endless applicator belt 16 is trained over a driving pulley l8 and a driven pulley 20. The driving pulley 18 may be driven at a variable speed by conventional means from a suitable motor 22. The coating material may be applied by suitable means such as a spray nozzle 24 to the top surface of the belt as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The endless plush belt applicators 16 are positioned in such a manner that they are skewed with respect to the direction of motion of the conveyor 12, this is shown schematically in FIG. 1. The velocity of the belts is indicated by the vector arrow A in FIG. 1 is chosen and adjusted such that when the work conveyor is moving at a velocity C as indicated in the arrow in FIG. 1, the resultant wiping force will be in the direction of arrow W which is at a right angle to the direction of the conveyor. This arrangement produces excellent results in wiping oli or streaking off the finish which is applied to the surface of the wonk 10. As there are two belt applicators 16 and the coating material is applied from the center of the work to the outside there will be no rolling up of the edges of the work as would be the case if the application was applied from the outside of the work toward the center.

Although the apparatus of this invention is described in the preferred embodiment as applying as well as streaking oii the coating material, the apparatus can be used as an attachment to a conventional seasoning machine which applies an uneven coating for only smoothing or streaking ofi this uneven coating. When used in such a manner, the spray nozzle 24 could be omitted.

The work travels on the conveyor 12 and passes beneath the applicator belts 16 and the application of the coating or finish is helped by the wedging action as illustrated in FIG. 3. A plurality of weights 2 6 are positioned within each of the endless belts 16 in the manner shown in FIG. 3 to apply a pressure between the belts and the work. With the arrangements described above no hand streaking or leveling is necessary in the finishing of leather work.

The commercial embodiment of each of the applicators is shown in detail in FIGS. 4 through 7 to enable one skilled in the art to practice this invention. It will be appreciated that only one of the applicators is shown since they are both identical and that the details of the conveyor 12 and support 14 are not shown as they form no integral part of this invention. Referring to FIG. 4, an upright standard 28 is supported in a suitable base 30 and has a cap attachment 32 fastened thereto. This cap attachment supports the applicator belt assembly by means of horizontal tubular support 34 and connecting support 36.

The applicator belt assembly is attached to an elongated channel iron 38 which in turn is carried by the horizontal support 34 by suitable clamps 48. The endless belt 16 which is the applicator belt is trained over idler pulley and driving pulley 18 as described in connection with FIG. 2. Idler pulley 20 is rotatably supported in bracket 42 such that it may be adjusted lengthwise to tighten or loosen the applicator belt. The driven pulley 18 is 'driven from electric motor 22 through a variable speed transmission housed within housing 44.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pulley 20 is supported on a movable bracket 42 which is biased by spring 48 to a position of applying tension upon the belt 16. This force which may be applied is adjustable by means of handle 50 and may be secured in the adjusted position by a suitable locking means 46.

The means for applying the wedging action by a weight, shown schematically in FIG. 3 are shown in detail in FIG. 6. As can be seen in FIG. 6, -a plurality of brackets 52 are secured to supporting channel 38 and these brackets carry a rod 54 pivotally mounted therein. Rod 54 in turn supports a pivotally movable arm 56 which arm carries a pressure applying member 58 having a pressure dis tributing plate 60 connected thereto. An upright screw 62 is threadedly attached to bracket 56 and suitable weights 64 may be positioned on screw 62 to bias the pressure applying plate 69 against the upper edge of the applicator belt 16. The extent of movement of the weight applying bracket 56 is limited by means of a stop nut 66 tbreadedly attached to stud 68. A guard 70 is provided to prevent any of the coating on the surface of the Work from splattering inside the endless belt 16.

An adjusting means is provided for adjusting the angle of the surface of the belt 16 and the entire applicator as sembly With respect to the horizontal axis of support rod 34. This adjustment means comprises a clamp 72 secured to the cap 32 of the upright standard and having 9. depending portion 74 with an adjusting slot 76 therein. A suitable handle 78 is pivotally attached to the clamp 72 and this handle actuates an adjustable rod 80 which in turn is pivotably attached to a horizontal connecting rod 82. Rod 82 is secured Within motor supporting bracket 84. Therefore, by moving handle 78 downward V as viewed in FIG. 7" after the clamps 40 have been loosened the rod 80 will move downward and the entire applicator belt assembly will pivot about horizontal support 34 to adjust the surface of the belt 16 to various angular positions.

The cap 32 which is adjustably clamped to upright 28 provides the means for adjusting the angular direction of travel of the belt 16 with respect to the conveyor 12.

A suitable coating composition or finishing material may 'be applied by any suitable means. In the preferred embodiment this coating is applied by nozzle 24 which is positioned at the end of a conduit 86 having a suitable control valve 88 therein. This conduit may be clamped by means of a clamp 90 to the support arms 34 and 36.

The invention in its broadest sense is not limited to V the material to which the coating is applied, the particular conveyor for supporting the work, or the particular described spray for applying the coating to the top of the applicator belt. For example, the coating may be applied to the work prior to the applicator belts and the applicator belts may be utilized only to smooth out the coating material. Thus, the disclosed apparatus is for the purposes of illustration only to enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention and the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiment disclosed but only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims wherein applicant is entitled to a reasonable range of equivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for smoothing a coating on a surface of leather or the like while said leather is traveling in a single direction at a constant speed on a generally horizontal conveyor, said apparatus comprising; at least one pair of upright standards, one of said pair of standards disposed on each side of said conveyor, an endless belt assembly including an endless plush belt carried by each of said standards, means for mounting the endless belt assembly on said standards with said endless belts extending generally at right angles to the vertical axis of said standards and above said moving conveyor and said leather, means on said standards to adjust the direction of travel of said belts with respect to the direction of travel of said conveyor such that the longitudinal axis of said belts is positioned at different angles with respect to the direction of travel of said conveyor, and both of said belts extending across the width of the conveyor, variable speed means for rotating the belts on said belt assemblies at a predetermined speed in opposite directions, the component of relative movement of said belts and said conveyor being at right angles to the direction of movement of said leather and extending from the center of said leather toward the side edges thereof, Weighted wedging devices positioned within each of said belts, means for applying said weighted wedging devices to said belts to cause a wedging action between the work and the bottom surface of the belt in the direction of travel of the work, and a guard device positioned beside said belt and operable to prevent coating material from splattering inside said endless belt.

2. Apparatus for smoothing a coating on the surface of a leather work piece or the like traveling in a single direction at a constant speed on a horizontal conveyor, said apparatus comprising; at least one pair of upright standards disposed at opposite sides of said conveyor, an endless belt assembly including an endless plush belt carried by each of said standards with the longitudinal axis of said belt being generally at right angles to the vertical axis of said standards, means on each of said standards to adjust the angle of the belt assembly and hence the direction of travel of said belts with respect to the direction of travel of said conveyor, means connecting said standard and belt assembly for adjusting the angle of contact between said endless plush belt and said leather work piece by adjusting the angle of support of said belt assembly upon said support standard, an electric drive motor carried by each of said standards and variable speed drive means connecting said motor to said belt for driving said belt at a predetermined rate so that the component of relative movement of said belts and conveyor will be at right angles to the direction of movement of work and will extend from the center of said work toward the edges thereof.

3. An apparatus for smoothing a coating on a planar surface of a piece of leather or the like, traveling in a single direction at a constant speed on a horizontal conveyor, the apparatus comprising; a pair of separate endless belt assemblies, including belts constructed of material to smooth the coating on to the leather surface, means for supporting each of the belt assemblies over the conveyor with the bottom run of the belt in contact with the surface of the leather on the conveyor, means for adjusting the angle of support of the belt assemblies on their support means relative to the direction of movement of the conveyor so that the belt assemblies extend at angles and in opposite directions from the center of the conveyor and contact the entire width of the conveyor, variable speed endless belt means for driving each of the belts at a predetermined speed and in a direction such that the lower run of each belt moves from the center of the conveyor outward, the speed of the belt with regard to the angle of support and the speed of the conveyor being such that the resultant wiping and smoothing action is at right angles to the direction of the conveyor, the plane of the lower run of each belt being normally at an angle to the plane of the leather on the conveyor, and adjustable biasing means including a plurality of weights inside each belt bearing against a rearward portion of the lower run thereof with respect to the direction of the movement of the conveyor for holding the rearward portion of the belt against the leather and creating a wedging action between the lower run of the belt and the leather.

4. An apparatus for smoothing a coating on a planar surface of a piece of leather or the like traveling in a singel direction at a constant speed on a horizontal con veyor, the apparatus comprising; a pair of upright standards, one on each side of the conveyor, a pair of separate endless belt assemblies, one supported from each of said standards and each extending inwardly over the conveyor with the bottom run of the belt adapted to contact the surface of the leather on the conveyor, belts included in the endless belt assemblies and being constructed of plush material to smooth the coating on the leather surface, clamp means securing the endless belt assemblies to the upright standards allowing for adjusting the angle of support of the belt assemblies relative to the conveyor, the belt assemblies being adjusted so that they extend at angles and in opposite directions from the center of the conveyor and contact the entire width of the conveyor, a motor operatively connected to a variable transmission which in turn is connected to a belt drive pulley for driving each of the belts at a predetermined speed and in a direction determined by the angle of support of the belt assembly, such that the lower run of each belt moves from the center of the conveyor outward at the predetermined speed of the belt with regard to the angle of sup port and the speed of the conveyor being such that the resultant wiping and smoothing action will be at right angles to the direction of the conveyor, and a plurality of connected weights bearing against the inside of the lower run of belts at the rear portion thereof with regard to the direction of movement of the conveyor for biasing the belt against the leather on the conveyor and creating a wedging action in the direction of travel of the work.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 771,196 Wimmer Sept. 27, 1904 1,140,642 Weingartner May 25, 1915 1,306,649 Weinheim June 10, 1919 1,535,752 Upham et a1 Apr. 28, 1925 1,666,347 P-latt Apr. 17, 1928 1,704,196 Jones Mar. 5, 1929 1,860,132 Broadston May 24, 1932 1,929,896 Merritt et a1. Oct. 10, 1933 1,983,180 McCarthy Dec. 4, 1934 2,285,041 Mayer et al. June 2, 1942 2,574,633 Faller Nov. 13, 1951 3,039,429 Mains Jan. 19, 1962 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR SMOOTHING A COATING ON A SURFACE OF LEATHER OR THE LIKE WHILE SAID LEATHER IS TRAVELING IN A SINGLE DIRECTION AT A CONSTANT SPEED ON A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL CONVEYOR, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING; AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF UPRIGHT STANDARDS, ONE OF SAID PAIR OF STANDARDS DISPOSED ON EACH SIDE OF SAID CONVEYOR, AND ENDLESS BELT ASSEMBLY INCLUDING AN ENDLESS PLUSH BELT CARRIED BY EACH OF SAID STANDARDS, MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE ENDLESS BELT ASSEMBLY ON SAID STANDARDS WITH SAID ENDLESS BELTS EXTENDING GENERALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE VERTICAL AXIS OF SAID STANDARDS AND ABOVE SAID MOVING CONVEYOR AND SAID LEATHER, MEANS ON SAID STANDARDS TO ADJUST THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF SAID BELTS WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF SAID CONVEYOR SUCH THAT THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID BELT IS POSITIONED AT DIFFERENT ANGLES WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF SAID CONVEYOR, AND BOTH OF SAID BELTS EXTENDING ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE CONVEYOR, VARIABLE SPEED MEANS FOR ROTATING THE BELTS ON SAID BELT ASSEMBLIES AT A PREDETERMINED SPEED IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, THE COMPONENT OF RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID BELTS AND SAID CONVEYOR BEING AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID LEATHER AND EXTENDING FROM THE CENTER OF SAID LEATHER TOWARD THE SIDE EDGES THEREOF, WEIGHTED WEDGING DEVICES POSITIONED WITHIN EACH OF SAID BELTS, MEANS FOR APPLYING SAID WEIGHTED WEDGING DEVICES TO SAID BELTS TO CAUSE A WEDGING ACTION BETWEEN THE WORK AND THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF THE BELT IN THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE WORK, AND A GUARD DEVICE POSITIONED BESIDE SAID BELT AND OPERABLE TO PREVENT COATING MATERIAL FROM SPLATTERING INSIDE SAID ENDLESS BELT. 